ShouldersDumbbellsBeginner

How to Do a Dumbbell Shoulder Press

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

ยท Updated Oct 1, 2026

A dumbbell shoulder press is an overhead press with a dumbbell in each hand. Sit on an upright bench, start with the dumbbells at shoulder height and press up until your arms are straight. It trains the front delts, with the side delts, triceps and upper chest helping. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Sets x reps 3-4 x 8-12
Median 10-rep weight, per dumbbell 5022.5 lbkg men 2511 lbkg women
Muscles Front delts, side delts, triceps
Vs barbell 55% of your overhead press per dumbbell
Dumbbell Shoulder Press start and top positions
  1. 1Start. Back on a near-upright bench, dumbbells at shoulder height, elbows just below your shoulders and slightly in front of your body.
  2. 2Top. Press until your arms are straight over your shoulders, then lower the dumbbells back to shoulder height under control.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to do a dumbbell shoulder press

  1. Set an adjustable bench upright or one notch back. Sit with a dumbbell standing on each thigh, just above your knees.
  2. Kick one knee up to lift that dumbbell to your shoulder, then the other. Sit back with your back and head on the pad.
  3. Hold the dumbbells at shoulder height, palms forward or turned partway in, with your elbows slightly in front of your body and your wrists stacked over your elbows. Plant your feet and brace your abs.
  4. Press the dumbbells up and slightly in until your arms are straight over your shoulders. Let your shoulder blades rise and rotate with your arms at the top.
  5. Lower over 2 to 3 seconds until the dumbbells are back at shoulder height. After the last rep, bring them down to your thighs before you stand up.
Grip

Neutral grip or palms forward?

Palms forwardClassic gripYour elbows sit out to the sides. Keep them slightly in front of your body, not straight out in line with your shoulders.
Palms facingNeutral gripYour elbows come forward, in front of your body. The easier choice for most shoulders, with a little more upper chest.
Start herePalms turned partway inHalfway between the two, with your elbows slightly forward. Where most lifters find the press feels best.
Palms turn as you pressArnold pressStart palms facing you and turn them forward on the way up. Gravitus lifters log about 30% less weight than on the standard press.

We found no study comparing grips on the dumbbell shoulder press. On a machine, a neutral press in front of the face drew more upper chest activity and a wide overhand press behind the head drew more side and rear delt (Coratella 2022), but the two presses also followed different paths. Pick the grip that feels best on your shoulders, and keep your elbows slightly in front of your body with any of them.

Setup

Bench angle: upright or one notch back

90 degreesFully uprightThe strictest press. The dumbbells travel straight over your shoulders, and your head has to stay out of their way.
Start hereOne notch back, 75 to 80 degreesA slight recline gives the dumbbells room to pass your face. It is still a shoulder press.
60 degrees or lowerA high incline pressLean back this far and the upper chest takes over. It turns into an incline press.
No benchStandingYour core and your side and rear delts work harder, and you press about 10% less weight.

Seated is the usual choice. The backrest takes your legs and lower back out of the lift, so you can move more weight: men pressed 10% less with dumbbells standing than seated (Saeterbakken 2013). Standing makes the shoulders work harder at the same relative load. In the same study, seated dumbbell presses drew 15% less side delt and 24% less rear delt activity than standing ones.

Range of motion

How low should you go?

Lower the dumbbells to shoulder height, with the handles about level with your chin and your elbows just below your shoulders. Dumbbells can go lower than a barbell, which stops at your chin, so go as deep as your shoulders stay comfortable. Stopping at ear or forehead height cuts off the bottom of the rep.

At the top, press until your arms are straight. In a seated military press study, pressing to straight arms drew more delt, trap and triceps activity than stopping with the elbows bent at 90 or 135 degrees (Paoli 2010). Let the dumbbells come in over your head at the top, but do not knock them together.

What to do

Full reps: dumbbells down to shoulder height, arms straight at the top, 2 to 3 seconds on the way down.

Gravitus data

How much weight should you dumbbell shoulder press?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 50 lb (22.5 kg) per dumbbell for 10 reps on the dumbbell shoulder press, and the median woman 25 lb (11 kg).

Men, typical 50 lb per dumbbell for 10 reps
Most lift
37.5 to 60 lb
Top 10% lift
75 lb or more
Starting out
under 37.5 lb
Women, typical 25 lb per dumbbell for 10 reps
Most lift
20 to 32.5 lb
Top 10% lift
45 lb or more
Starting out
under 20 lb
Men, typical 22.5 kg per dumbbell for 10 reps
Most lift
17 to 27.5 kg
Top 10% lift
35 kg or more
Starting out
under 17 kg
Women, typical 11 kg per dumbbell for 10 reps
Most lift
9 to 15 kg
Top 10% lift
20 kg or more
Starting out
under 9 kg
PercentileMenWomen
25th50 / 37.5 lb27.5 / 20 lb
Median65 / 50 lb32.5 / 25 lb
75th80 / 60 lb45 / 32.5 lb
90th105 / 75 lb60 / 45 lb
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, per dumbbell, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 22,423 men and 5,714 women who log the dumbbell shoulder press on Gravitus, computed Oct 4, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
PercentileMenWomen
25th22.5 / 17 kg12 / 9 kg
Median30 / 22.5 kg15 / 11 kg
75th37.5 / 27.5 kg20 / 15 kg
90th47.5 / 35 kg27.5 / 20 kg
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, per dumbbell, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 22,423 men and 5,714 women who log the dumbbell shoulder press on Gravitus, computed Oct 4, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Weights are per dumbbell, the way lifters log them. Double the number for the total in your hands. Seated and standing presses are logged together here, and standing takes about 10% off, so compare yourself to your own log in the same position.
Gravitus data

Dumbbell vs barbell shoulder press: how the weights compare

55%Each dumbbell, of your barbell overhead press max
110%Both dumbbells together
46-67%Middle half of men, per dumbbell

Each dumbbell is about 55% of your barbell overhead press, so the pair adds up to a little more than the bar. We compared the best estimated max of 12,000+ men and 2,500+ women who log both lifts in Gravitus (Sep 2026). The median man's dumbbell max, per hand, was 55% of his barbell max, and the median woman's was 56%. A 100 lb (45 kg) barbell press predicts dumbbells of about 55 lb (25 kg) each for one rep.

That is a bigger share than on the bench press, where each dumbbell is about 40% of the bar. Position explains most of it. In a lab, standing dumbbell presses were 7% lighter than a standing barbell press and 10% lighter than seated dumbbell presses (Saeterbakken 2013). Most lifters press dumbbells seated and the barbell standing, which puts the pair ahead in the logs.

Anatomy

Dumbbell shoulder press muscles worked

Front deltsRaise the arms forward and overhead, the main job in any overhead press. Dumbbells drew 11 to 15% more front delt activity than a barbell at the same relative load (Saeterbakken 2013).
Primary
Side deltsHelp raise the arms, and work harder standing than seated. Lateral raises train them more directly.
Secondary
TricepsStraighten the elbows, most near the top. Standing, a barbell press drew 39% more triceps activity than dumbbells (Saeterbakken 2013).
Secondary
Upper chestHelps raise the arms forward, more with a neutral grip and a reclined bench.
Secondary
Rotator cuff, serratus, trapsThe serratus and traps rotate your shoulder blades up as your arms rise, and the rotator cuff keeps each shoulder centred.
Stabilizer
CoreHolds your trunk still. It works much harder when you press standing.
Stabilizer
Research

Should you keep your shoulders down and stop short of lockout?

No to both. As your arms go overhead, your collarbones rise and your shoulder blades rotate up and tilt back (Ludewig 2009). That movement makes room for the arm, so pinning your shoulders down and back through the whole rep works against it. What to avoid is shrugging before the press starts, with your shoulders up by your ears at the bottom.

Stopping short of straight arms to "keep tension" does not help either. Pressing to straight arms drew more delt, trap and triceps activity than stopping with the elbows bent (Paoli 2010).

Three other claims that do not hold up:

  • A neutral grip prevents impingement. No study has shown that. A neutral grip brings your elbows forward, which most people find more comfortable. If palms forward feels fine, keep using it.
  • The pec minor helps you press. It pulls the shoulder blade forward and down, the opposite of what the shoulder blade does as your arms go overhead.
  • Dumbbells build bigger shoulders than a barbell. Dumbbells drew more front delt activity (Saeterbakken 2013), but activity is not growth, and we found no training study comparing the two for shoulder size. Choose the press you can keep adding weight to.
Compare

Dumbbell shoulder press vs barbell overhead press vs shoulder press machine

Dumbbell shoulder pressBarbell overhead pressShoulder press machine
PathYou choose itCurves back around your faceSet by the machine
Balance neededMost, each arm aloneSome, one free barLeast
Weight jumps5 lb (2.5 kg) per hand2.5 lb (1.25 kg) or lessOne pin
Best forRange of motion, one arm at a timeFree-weight pressing strengthSets close to failure, drop sets
Verdict

A tie for growth: free weights and machines build muscle equally, but strength carries over best to the equipment you train on (Haugen 2023). Use dumbbells if one side is weaker or a bar bothers your shoulders, and a barbell if you want a bigger barbell press.

Programming

Sets, rep range and progression

3-4Sets
8-12Reps
0-2Reps left

Stop each set 0 to 2 reps short of failure. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so anything from 6 to 15 works. 8 to 12 keeps the dumbbells light enough to get into position safely.

Dumbbell jumps are big: going up one pair, from 30 to 35 lb (12.5 to 15 kg), adds 17 to 20%. Add reps first. When every set reaches 12 clean reps, move up one pair and drop back to 8. The press works the front delts most, so pair it with lateral raises for the side delts and a rear delt exercise.

Form

Common mistakes

Variations

Dumbbell shoulder press variations

Arnold PressStart palms facing you and turn them forward as you press. Gravitus lifters log about 30% less weight than on the standard press.
Standing dumbbell shoulder pressMore side and rear delt work at the same relative load, and about 10% less weight (Saeterbakken 2013).
Single-arm dumbbell shoulder pressOne side at a time. Your core works to stop you leaning toward the dumbbell.
Dumbbell Z pressSeated on the floor with your legs straight out, so you cannot lean back.
Landmine Shoulder PressPress one end of a barbell up and forward. A good option for shoulders that do not like pressing straight overhead.
Barbell overhead pressThe standing barbell version. Easy to load in small jumps.
Shoulder Press MachineA guided path, so you can take sets close to failure without a spotter.
FAQ

Questions people ask

What muscles does dumbbell shoulder press work?

The front delts most, with the side delts, triceps and upper chest helping. Pressing standing makes your core, side delts and rear delts work harder (Saeterbakken 2013).

Seated vs standing dumbbell shoulder press?

Seated for most people. Men pressed 10% more weight seated, while standing drew more side and rear delt activity (Saeterbakken 2013). Press seated to load the shoulders heavy, and standing if you also want core work.

Is the dumbbell shoulder press better than the barbell overhead press?

Neither is better for growth. Dumbbells drew more front delt activity and let each arm work alone, while a barbell drew more triceps activity (Saeterbakken 2013) and takes smaller weight jumps. In Gravitus logs, each dumbbell is about 55% of a lifter's barbell press.

How to get dumbbells up for shoulder press?

Sit with a dumbbell standing on each thigh, just above your knees. Kick one knee up to lift that dumbbell to your shoulder, then the other, and sit back against the pad. With heavy dumbbells, kick both up together as you sit back.

Should I use a neutral grip or palms forward on dumbbell shoulder press?

Either works. A neutral grip brings your elbows forward, which most shoulders find more comfortable, while palms forward lets the elbows go wider. We found no study comparing the two on dumbbells, so use the one that feels best and keep your elbows slightly in front of your body.

How low should you go on dumbbell shoulder press?

Down to shoulder height, with the handles about level with your chin and your elbows just below your shoulders. Go deeper only if your shoulders stay comfortable. Stopping at ear height cuts off the bottom of the rep.

How much weight should I dumbbell shoulder press?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 50 lb (22.5 kg) per dumbbell for men and 25 lb (11 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 60 lb (27.5 kg) and 32.5 lb (15 kg) or more.

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References
  1. Saeterbakken and Fimland 2013. J Strength Cond Res 27(7):1824-1831.
  2. Paoli, Marcolin and Petrone 2010. J Strength Cond Res 24(6):1578-1583.
  3. Coratella et al. 2022. Front Physiol 13:825880.
  4. Ludewig et al. 2009. J Bone Joint Surg Am 91(2):378-389.
  5. Haugen et al. 2023. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 15:103.
  6. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.